Corporate Talk

My story for the day was Fair-related. People from all over come to Medford and Central Point. Central Point neighbors Medford just to the North and is the fairgrounds are technically within Central Point city limits. The businesses that surround the fairgrounds usually see a pretty sizable boost in visitors and sales. My story for the day looked at these business and what kind of increase they are expecting.

I aimed at the handful of restaurants and hotels near the fairgrounds. However, six of the first seven that I approached would not talk to me. They said that I needed to submit questions to corporate before they could answer anything. Stupid rules. It's not as though the general managers are going to say something that would hurt their business. And if they're not sure that what they're saying is 100% true, they don't need to say it. It's as though these general managers are regarded almost like children for a mother who is afraid they'll say something off-color. And it's frustrating for me, because I know they want to talk and have good things to say. Some have made great comments off-camera and regret being unable to say anything because of their corporate parents. But I called the station for help and Asst. News Director/Anchor/Great Mentor, Brian Morton, listed a few places that would talk, and they delivered.

I was asked to create a package for this story. And after the last time I created a package, I knew that I would have to step up my game. Last time, I didn't start thinking about the outline of my script and the package's layout until late in the game. Today, whenever I was driving I thought about the main points of the story and how to explain them. It helped. I got back to the station and had a good idea of which SOTs I wanted to use and how to transition between them. Because I was able to work quicker, I wasn't as rushed when I had to track (or record narration) so I felt much more comfortable in the soundbooth and I think my voice sounded more confident in the finished piece.

Overall, I'm happy with how today went. I probably could have shot a little bit more to flesh out the story. But I'm glad that I persevered through the six silent businesses and was able to get my piece done on time. I still need to write quicker, but knowing that I can get it done quicker than Friday is the first step. Speeding it up is next...